Hey Guys,

Has anyone changed the backlighting on the cluster panel to LEDs? I want my lights to be bright and easy to see. Any suggestions?

Would this be difficult to do?

Any walk-throughs?

Thanks.

 

Yes - many have.

If you do a search, you will find MANY threads on people using LED's in the dash. The main problem seems to be that they are not dimmable.

 

ah, I search backlight instrument panel, and nothing came up for C3s. I guess I just searched the wrong thing.

Are they so bright that it bothers people?
Why wouldn't they be dimmable?

 

You might want to try a little smaller search - I used "led+dash", and came up with a number of theads. Here is a fairly recent one. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...-lighting.html

Some people seam to like them alot. I myself like to dim the gauge lights at night.

The way I understand it, the LED's work completely different than incandescent lights, and are either on or off. I would like the brightness of LED's, but I like the dimmable nature of the incandescents more.

One thing to check if you lights are not very bright is the grounds. I could barely see the speedometer at night. I got down there, and cleaned up the ground contact with some sandpaper, and added a bit of dielectric grease, and it became much brighter.

 

I am brand new to this sort of thing. Where is "Down there"? And how will I distinguish between the dash panel wires and all the others?

 

Something else to remember when buying LEDs is get SMT style LEDs. It's a very bright type unlike regular cheap LEDs. Yes they are more expensive but regular LEDs will not be as bright as stock incandescents.

 

I own a lot of things with LEDs and I have never thought they were dimmer than incandescents. Are things typically installed with SMTs? I have a LED flashlight, what kind of LEDs are in it? I even have LED turn-signals and I thought they put off more light than when I had the stock bulbs.

Am I missing something?

 

LEDs are a more focused light source. Meaning, you look right into an LED bulb and it will look bright because it's focused on you. Gauge lighting is kind of based on a much less focused lighting that the incandescents are perfect for. Take an LED and a 9V battery into a dark room and see how much it lights up the room. More than likely it'll look like you're holding a flashlight and only what is in front of you will be well lit. Take an incandescent bulb into a dark room with a 9V battery and the lighting will be more evenly distributed throughout the room. Less focus in one area. For things like signals which use reflectors and flashlights which are a point and shoot device an LED will seem very bright because they are perfect for those applications. For a wide spread out illumination they are less effective and that's what gauge lights need. The SMT LEDs are a much brighter kind of LED and a much wider pattern.

 

That was an excellent explanation. Thank you.

 

SR,

FYI, "down there" refers to lying on your back underneath the steering wheel, head against the pedals, feet either out the door, through the T-tops or raised up on the seat backs (all ways very uncomfortable), small flashlight in your mouth, and trying to find the TWO small black ground wires that attach to small blade connectors that are screwed to the rear of the tach and the speedo. The instrument lighting lites are powered by grey wires and various turn signal lites and high beam, etc are powered by various blue, green, and if I recall, brown wires.

This is on my 72...

All in all, a royal PITA!!!

Hope this helps!!

 

I replaced all my cluster to the warm white LED and one of the best choices I've made. You will however will need the LEDs that has multiple lights in them so it's bright enough. Shows up a bluish color because of the metal backing is painted blue from the factory. I love em.

 

75... This link might help. I'm not done with this project myself, yet or I'd post the pics of the process. Hope this helps in the mean time.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...-lighting.html

 

SMT = Surface Mount Technology, referring to how the LEDs are mounted (also called SMD, or Surface Mount Device). SMT components are soldered flush onto pads on a circuit board. "Standard" LEDs have wire leads for soldering onto a circuit board with plated through-holes. SMT LEDs are typically flat on top, while the older style LEDs usually have a plastic dome over the top to focus the light. Thus the SMT package emits light in a wider pattern, more like an incandescent lamp. Internally it is the same semiconductor die. Both can be equally bright, but the SMT design allows a more compact construction. There are also "super bright" LEDs, I made a pocket flashlight with my son as a science project using two super bright LEDs (not the SMT design) and it is brighter than a store-bought flashlight I have with seven SMT LEDs. Sorry for the lenghty explanation - it's the Electrical Engineer in me coming out (Purdue!)

I am also using LEDs in my yellow '80, I have already replaced the dome light and have "bulbs" for the floor lights. Taillights and dash backlighting are also on my list. I have not torn into the dash yet, but there are three things to consider: 1) LED size; 2) LED color; 3) LED brightness and/or light pattern. #1 will be dictated to some degree by the incandescent lamps you are replacing and how much room you have to work in. #2 and #3 are a matter of personal taste.